Heeded Warnings
by LilyTheNinjaGirl
Summary: I haven't seen a lot of fics focusing on Leo and Donnie's brotherly relationship, so of course I HAD to write one. Leo and Donnie brotherly fluff two shot. Rated T just be really, really safe. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

****A/N: Yeah, I know I should be updating Amnesia and everything, but I had this idea in my head and I couldn't resist! I'm sure you've heard that excuse many times, but if you are a fellow author you probably understand it :)****

 ** **So, I have noticed that there are quite a lot of fanfictions and oneshots that have brotherly fluff. I have also noticed that's usually it between all the boys, Raph and Mikey, Leo and Mikey, or Leo and Raph. I haven't seen that many that focus on Leo and Donnie's relationship. So of course, I had to write one! Well, this technically a two shot. It was going to be a oneshot, but when I started writing I just couldn't stop, and I had too much to fit into a single oneshot. The next chapter will be a lot of the Leo and Donnie fluff!****

 ** **This is dedicated to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, for bringing so many of us so much joy.****

 ** **Disclaimer:**** I do not own the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (and I still cry over this fact).

"Alright guys! The Foot are close, I sense it!" The leader in blue, Leonardo, whispered to his three younger brothers. They nodded and pulled their various weapons out. The four young ninjas moved swiftly and silently through the shadows.

Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey had been running around on a rooftop blowing off steam for three hours. The boys had been grounded over an incident that had occurred around a week ago. Mikey swore he didn't know who had taken bites out of Splinter's cheese phone, but it hadn't mattered. The boys had been grounded anyway. After a week of being stuck underground and a good round of Randori, the four terrapin warriors where finally free.

So after a visit to April and multiple hours of running around, whooping loudly and showing off with back flips over the roof edges, Leo had decided that a little ninja stealth wouldn't hurt, especially since they had been so loud that some old guy had yelled out of his window at them to 'shut their mouths or else'. They had barely avoided getting caught.

"The tracker says the mutagen is about, let's see," Donnie twitched the knobs on his homemade ooze scanner, "About three hundred feet, seven inches, three centimeters, and 25.009 millimeters away." He looked up. "It's a HUGE batch guys. The scanner is going berserk!"

"What would the Shredder be doing with that much mutagen?" Raph muttered, annoyed. He was insanely happy about the possibility of a fight. He would have sneaked out of the Lair about twenty times while they were grounded, but Leo's close watch and the reminder of what had happened last time had kept within the perimeter of their base.

"Another mutagen bomb?" Leo suggested.

"Making a mutant army?" Donnie said, shrugging.

"Ooh! Ooh! He's probably mutating his Foot dudes into UNICORNS! It all makes sense now!" Mikey whispered a little too loudly. The other three hushed him. "What? Unicorns are deadly creatures. Do you know how _sharp_ those horns are?" Mikey asked. Nobody paid him any attention. He frowned and shook his head. The guys would be sorry. Being stabbed to death by unicorns was a horrible way to die.

"Alright ninjas, on my mark," Leo whispered, "One, two, THREE!"

The turtles leapt from their hiding place and into the warehouse, shattering the window glass. "BOOYAKASHA!"

Instantly, every Foot ninja in the warehouse turned its robotic head towards them. They pulled out their weapons. Donnie scanned the warehouse.

"There must be dozens!" he exclaimed. He ran the numbers through his head. "There are way too many of them!"

"Take out as many as you can and then get out!" Leo shouted in Japanese. Being bilingual had its advantages, because his enemies couldn't understand what he was saying. " _Shredder really ought to install a language translator into his bots,_ " he thought. "We can cripple them, but not defeat them entirely!" He took off into the swarm, slicing robots left and right.

"Leo, there are TOO many!" Donnie cried, swinging his Bo at several bots, it knocked two of the over, but the third evaded it. The other two jumped out and pulled out maces. "We won't be able to find an exit! We need to go NOW!" He ducked and knocked a Foot's head off. The rest of the metal body followed the head and crashed onto the ground.

"We need to stop them!" Leo yelled back. He swiftly sliced through two bots, who immediately fell. He split-kicked two more and spun in a circle with his blades whipping around, trashing several more robots.

"Relax Don," Raph called. "We'll be fine!" He continued to barrel through the horde of robots, snapping the robotic necks and stabbing the wiring consoles with his sai. A path fallen robots lay in his wake. This fight couldn't end too soon! He was having too much fun.

"Yeah, we totally got this!" Mikey called. He swung his kusigarama chain in a circle, blade out, like a tornado with a knife. Robots fell left and right under the blade. Suddenly, a robot found an opening and knocked him over. Mikey fell backwards. The robot brought his blade down to Mikey's arm. Mikey squealed and flipped, throwing the robot off balance. The blade left a nasty gash on Mikey's arm. "Or maybe not," he chuckled nervously.

"Okay guys! We've done enough damage!" Leo yelled, surveying the room. Half of the robots were lying on the floor, twitching, sparking, and missing limbs. "Let's move out!" He turned to leave.

"I don't think you're going anywhere," a snarky feminine voice said. Leo spun around. Karai! "Foot, attack!"

About 200 Foot bots came pouring in through the door to the warehouse, followed by Bradford, Xever, and Tigerclaw. The turtles gulped. Karai smiled haughtily and pulled out a naginata. She headed straight for Leo. Typical.

The Foot bots attacked in waves. The turtles fought back frantically, but for every Foot bot they took down, three more appeared. Donnie smashed the heads of two of them. He ducked and avoided a couple shurikens. He back flipped out of the way; snap-kicked a bot, and rolled underneath two more. Suddenly, he felt a sharp stinging pain in his leg. He winced as he pulled out the shuriken that had embedded itself in his flesh. His leg was bleeding.

Raph slammed a bot against the wall, tore through four more, and madly stabbed a couple extra. He was like a vicious dog, and it was surprising he wasn't gnawing on the metal robot limbs. He snarled and flung himself back into the battle. A chain wrapped around his wrist. He felt it dig in, and was forced to drop his sai as he cried out. The chain snapped backwards, taking him with it. He slammed against the wall. Before he could recover, Xever landed a kick in his stomach. He gasped and rolled over, barely avoiding another blow to his head.

He shakily got to his feet, and he noticed Tigerclaw aiming a gun for Mikey, who was trying really hard to fight with one hand. Two Foot bots tipped him over, and he crashed to the ground. Tigerclaw aimed and fired.

Despite being out of breath, Raph leapt in front of his little brother. The icy blast caught him in the head, and he was slammed backwards into Mikey. He lay limply on top of his brother, unconscious. His head was bleeding badly.

"Raphie," Mikey whimpered. He dizzily pushed his older brother off and climbed shakily to his feet. He was immediately bowled over by several more bots. Rahzar picked up Raphael. "NO! LEAVE HIM ALONE! BAD DOG! BAD!" Mikey yelled, squirming furiously.

Donnie knocked Rahzar out with his Bo and tossed Raph over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "We gotta get out of here!" he yelled, panicked. Raph was losing blood far too fast.

Leo glanced around, desperately searching for anything that could help. Suddenly, he saw a bomb in the corner of the warehouse. Karai had clearly rigged it so that there would be no escape. An idea formed in his head.

"Guys, get as far as you can to that corner! And GET BEHIND SOMETHING!" He punched Karai in the jaw, sending her spinning backwards. He jumped over a couple more Foot, sliced through several with his one remaining katana, and then landed neatly in front of the bomb.

"Leo, YOU ARE CRAZY!" Donnie yelled while shoving Foot out of the way to get to the corner. There were several large crates stacked there. "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO SET OFF THE BOMB!"

Tigerclaw realized what Leo was doing. He flew over with his jet pack to try and stop him. But Leo was determined. " _Come one Leo_ ," he told himself. " _You've seen your brother do this a gazillion times. You can do this._ _Let's see…..you switch the green wire with the red one_ …"

Tigerclaw attacked Leo. He was forced to dodge several ice rays, leaving the bomb unattended. "You shall not be setting this off!" Tigerclaw said. He slashed his sword through the wiring.

"NOOOO!" Leo yelled. The slight chance of escape had been lost. They were going to die! But suddenly, the screen lit up. It started a countdown. Tigerclaw had triggered the bomb! Leo watched, half terrified, half amused, as the big cat realized what he had done.

"RETREAT!" he called, activating his jet pack and zooming over the Foot bots.

"Are you crazy? There will be no retreat! The turtles must be eliminated!" Karai yelled. She ordered her Foot bots to come back, and the robots obeyed.

Leo ran for the barricade of boxes and tables that Donnie and Mikey had been frantically building in the corner. He dodged and ducked the Foot bots, but then they turned from their frantic flight and attacked him, as per Karai's command. Hundreds went at him with vengeance.

He fought furiously, but no matter how great a warrior, overwhelming numbers are just too...well, overwhelming. One of them kicked his left knee, and he yelped as he went down. No! No! No! He wouldn't let an old injury he thought he had overcome prevent him from protecting his brothers, who were too busy guarding their barricade from Foot bots to notice him.

A flash of steel left a long gash on his leg, and he stumbled backwards, scooting on his shell to get out of the way. He attempted to stand, but found that he couldn't. In the corner of his eyes, he saw the red numbers blinking on the screen of the bomb. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. And then it exploded.

###############################################

Donatello's POV:

Mikey is struggling to fight with one hand. I spin my Bo around and slam two Foot bots that Mikey is fighting against the opposite wall, crushing their metal skulls. That allows several more Foot bots to climb over my strange barricade made from everything bulky I could find in close range. I snap kick two of them and punch the third. Then I use my long wooden weapon to knock the new wave climbing over the wall to the ground.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Leo struggling with the Foot bots that are attacking him. There are too many! Far too many! I had warned Leo! Why couldn't he have listened to me? And now we are stuck in this mess! He's an awesome leader, but sometimes I wish he would listen to me before rushing in to save the day!

My eyes are spinning in circles as I attempt to protect my barricade, help my injured little brother, watch over my unconscious hot headed brother, and keep tabs on Leo. I turn to see the bomb screen. No! The letters are almost to zero and Leo is in the middle of the worst blast zone!

"Leo! Move! NOW!" I yell frantically. His eyes spin around, and he looks at the bomb. I prepare to jump over the wall and help him, but several Foot bots grab me and pin me against the wall. They have Mikey tied up in his nunchuk chains.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0. Suddenly, the entire warehouse explodes, sending a shock wave that knocks me flat against the wall I was pinned to. The force slams my head against the concrete. My vision goes blurry, and starts to fade.

" _Come on Donnie, stay awake, you have to stay awake!_ " I tell myself. The force wave releases me and I fall on my knees, choking on dust. At first, I don't dare to look up. But I force myself to bring my eyes up from the ground and survey the damage.

The first thing I see is Mikey. He is lying on his back, rubbing his head and groaning. But he is alive and awake. It appears that some Foot bots cushioned his fall. Raph is lying on the ground, his arm twisted in a weird way, but he too looks okay. I stand up shakily, and my vision blurs.

I peek over the edge of the smoking barricade. The warehouse, or the few piles of rubble that remain in one piece, is on fire, which is quickly spreading. There are bits of wooden crates all over the warehouse, also on fire. Smoke is billowing up, making me cough furiously. My eyes water and my vision twists, but I force myself to keep my eyes open.

And then I spot my big brother. He's half buried under a pile of bricks. I don't know if he's unconsious or...well, I wouldn't be able to stand if he was...

But surviving an explosion like that would be a miracle. Too much of a miracle to hope for. My throat tightens and I choke down a cry as I jump over the barricade, dodging the fires and fragments of glass all over the ground. I frantically throw the bricks off of him, and then drag his body out of the fire. Tears stream down my cheeks as I press my fingers against his neck, searching. Nothing.

And then I find it! A pulse! It's faint, but it's there! I want to shout with joy, but I never get the chance. Police sirens come within hearing range. I turn around to see Mikey struggling to carry Raph over. I pick up Leo and turn towards the door.

"Are you okay?" I ask Mikey, who is panting and struggling to support Raph with one arm.

"Yeah," he says. I don't press the matter and say nothing more.

We manage to get out of the explosion zone and into an alleyway, where we take cover behind a few dumpsters. No doubt the police would be searching this area soon. We have to get out of here.

The first thing I do is check Raph's pulse. Normal. Then I look over Leo. His leg is slightly bent at a weird angle, and he has first to second degree burns over most of his exposed green skin. I pull out my water bottle and dump it over him, which is the best I can do as far as medical treatment right now. Mikey wordlessly hands me his as well, and I dump the cool liquid on the rest of Leo's body.

Mikey snuggles up next to Raph for warmth. It is getting slightly colder tonight. I take out my T-phone. Sensei doesn't like coming above ground unless it is an emergency, but this definitely counts as an emergency. I play with Leo's bandana tails as the phone dials.

" _Please pickup, please pickup, please pickup!_ "

##########################################################

Splinter was sitting and meditating when the phone rang. He immediately stood and went to his room. Was it his T-phone that his brilliant son had proudly presented him with several years ago, or was it...?

He gasped and rushed over. It was the Cheese Phone! He lifted the glass case. He frowned deeply as he observed the bite marks in the Cheese Phone. Michelangelo swore he didn't know how they got there, but he still had grounded his sons anyway. They needed to learn that the truth will always be found. This was their first night out since then. What could they have possibly gotten into this time?

"Moshi Moshi?" he answered automatically. Donatello's frantic voice came from the other side.

" _Sensei! We found mutagen and the Foot attacked us and Tigerclaw activated the bomb and Leo didn't make it to our barricade and_ -"

"My son, slow down. Where are you? Is Leonardo hurt?" Splinter asked, his chest tightening. If anything happened to any of his sons he would never be able to live with the grief.

" _Yes, but not too badly. He has some second degree burns, and his old leg injury came back, but he should be okay. Raph's unconscious and Mikey's arm is hurt. The police are going to find us! I need your help! Please!_ " Donatello begged.

"Of course, my son. Where are you?" Splinter asked. He stood up and made his way to the door of the dojo.

" _The corner of Eastman and Laird! Please hurry_!" he replied. There were a few muffled noises from the other side of the phone. " _Again, hurry! Mikey is slowly slipping into shock!_ "

"I'll be there as soon as possible," Splinter promised. He set the phone down and ran towards the edge of the Lair. If his sons were found and captured...

He screeched to a halt in front of the Party Wagon. A vehicle would most certainly be faster, and it would be a lot easier to transport his hurt sons. But he had not driven in years. Would he remember how to do it?

He decided he had no choice as he climbed into the vehicle. Thankfully, Donatello always left the keys in the visor in case of emergency. He turned on the vehicle and slid the stick shift into what he believed was the first gear. He pushed the gas pedal. The car revved up and shot backwards, slamming into the front of his Shellraiser. Oops, reverse.

He changed the position of the stick and tried again. This time the vehicle went forwards. Good.

" _Remain strong, my sons_ ," he thought. " _I am coming._ "

###############################################################

Mikey snuggled against Raph and shivered. He was cold. So cold. Where was he again?

"Mikey, are you okay?" a voice asked in the distance. It sounded familiar, yet he couldn't place it.

"Ugh, where am I? Dude, it feels like the return of Mozzarella Man," Mikey groaned. Donnie ignored the obscure comic reference and tried again, shaking his little brother,

"Mikey, you have to stay awake, okay?"

"But I'm soooooo tired!"

"But Mikey, you really have to, um," Donnie searched frantically for something that would motivate Mikey to stay awake. He spotted a little orange brown kitten wandering among the trash. "Pet that cute little kitty!" he said brightly. Mikey's eyes immediately snapped open.

"Here, kitty kitty," he cooed at the cat. She meowed and walked over to him. He gathered her up in his lap and began tickling her. "Aren't you such a cute little kitty cat? Oh yes you are!"

Donnie turned away from his detracted little brother and went back to examining Leo. He had some burn medicine in his lab. He would call April and ask her to pick up some Aloe Vera at the grocery store.

Suddenly, bright headlights filled the alleyway. Donnie squeezed his eyes shut. The cat yelped and buried herself in Mikey's arms. Mikey scooted backwards and leaned against Donnie.

"Whoever finds us, and whatever happens to us, I love you bro," he choked.

"I love you too, Mikey."

"Aw, that is sooo cute!" an annoying voice said. An annoying familiar voice. A voice that had annoyed Donnie since the first time he had heard it.

"Damn you, Casey Jones!" he said, opening his eyes. His father, April, and Casey were all there. Casey scooped up Raph and strained his muscles, trying to prove he could carry the muscular turtle to the car without dropping him. He set the hot head down in the backseat and then helped Mikey up, who cradled the kitten in his arms.

"Sensei, can I keep her? Pleeeeeaaaase?" he begged. Splinter shook his head. Mikey's face immediately fell.

"Sensei, that kitten probably saved Mikey's life," Donnie half lied. Mikey would have gone into shock, which _can_ occasionally lead to unconsciousness and a coma, but he probably didn't have too much of a chance of dying.

Splinter sighed. He didn't have the time or energy to argue right now, with two of his sons so hurt. And Michelangelo had been begging for a cat for a long time. Maybe it would help teach him to have a little responsibility.

"Alright, my son. You may keep the kitten. But you are the one in charge of her care," he relented. Mikey's face lit into a smile as he cuddled the kitten closer.

"I'm going to name her 'Klunk'!" he cheered.

"Why Klunk?" Donnie asked. What kind of a name was that?

"Why not?" Mikey said, shrugging. He climbed into the party wagon. "Now let's get home so we can fix Leo!"

Ignoring the fact that you clearly can't 'fix' a person, Donnie opted not to correct his younger brother as he climbed into the front of the vehicle, taking the keys from his Sensei, who had already lain Leonardo on the floor. Donnie had a slight flashback of the last time Leo had been unconscious and was lying on that exact spot. He gulped and prayed things would be better this time.

Putting the car in reverse, he pulled out of the alleyway two seconds before several policemen walked into it, their flashlight beams bouncing off the walls. For the first five minutes of the car ride, everyone was completely silent. And as always, Casey Jones was the one who ignored the purpose of the silence and asked the dreaded question. "So, what happened to you guys?"

Donnie grit his teeth while turning the corner a little too sharply. "We had found a large supply of mutagen, so we went into the warehouse to investigate. There were a reasonable number of Foot soldiers that would be easy enough to beat, so we fought them. And then Karai showed up." He heard a sharp intake of breath from both his father and April.

"Anyway, she had Razhar, Fishface, and Tigerclaw with her, plus like 500 Foot bots. She had rigged the entire warehouse with explosives all connected to one central bomb. They were over throwing us, and Leo realized that the warehouse was rigged, so he yelled at us to get behind something. We were at the opposite end of the warehouse. Raph was unconscious and Mikey was injured. So I just followed his orders."

"You let him set off the bomb and do this to himself?" April asked incredulously. She was scowling. Donnie winced.

"Not exactly. It was a time bomb, probably set with just enough time for the Foot to evacuate and lock us inside. Leo was trying to mess with the wires and activate it. Tigerclaw noticed what he was doing and went to stop him. He slashed through the bombs wiring, and it began the countdown."

"What have I always told ya?" a groggy voice said. "Steel over brains!"

"Raph!" Mikey yelled. He climbed over the back of his seat and threw his arms around his big brother.

"Geez, get off of me. You'd think I'd been seriously hurt or somethin'," Raph joked. He glanced at Leo. "Woah, what happened to Fearless?"

"As I was saying," Donnie continued, regaining the focus of everyone in the car, "The Foot attacked Leo, and there were way too many of them. He didn't make it to our barricade in time. The bomb exploded and took him with it. The shock wave reached pretty far, too."

"Ugh, I'm glad I was out for that," Raph said. He stood up. "So, he's gonna be okay, right?"

"I don't know Raph. I really don't know," Donnie answered softly.

 **A/N: Yeah, I'm 14, so I don't know much about medical stuff or how to drive a car. Correct me if I get something wrong! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm going on vacation in two days, so Part 2 probably won't be up till next week at the earliest.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, I decided to sit down and write this instead of procrastinating forever with it. I hope you enjoy it! My vacation was amazing! Seeing so many people gathered together in Washington D.C. to support life despite the blizzard was amazing! Anyway, I did not get snowed in there, so here is Part 2! Enjoy!**

Part 2

He cracked his eyes open. Light filled his vision. He quickly shut them again.

"Where am I?" he thought. "What happened to me?" He assessed his physical condition. His leg felt like it was on fire. His head throbbed painfully. As for the rest of his body, it itched and burned. But nothing seemed beyond healing. Good.

He opened his eyes just a slight bit more, this time giving them time to re-adjust to the light after staring at the darkness for so long. He was looking at a concrete ceiling, which was splattered with dust and dried up liquid. Funny, it looked like the ceiling of Donnie's lab.

He sat bolt upright, ignoring the pain that immediately spiraled through his body. He glanced around wildly. Messy desk, drawers full of tools, beakers and vials with colorful liquids, coffee cups littering the floor... It was Donnie's lab!

He heard snoring, and he turned, expecting to see Raphael lying on the cot next to him. Raph always insisted on sleeping in the lab whenever Leo was hurt. It was a small favor really, most of the time it was a minor injury or a concussion, but it was how Raph showed that he cared. By being stubborn and staying up all night for his brother's sake, whether Leo needed it or not. Leo often did the same for Raph.

But it was not his hot headed brother lying on the cot. It was actually Doctor Donnie himself. Now how had Donnie managed to get Raph to go to sleep?

"D-Donnie?" he stuttered, surprised at how hoarse his voice sounded. The purple banded terrapin's eyes immediately snapped opened. He yawned and stretched, looking over at the table covered in blankets and pillows.

"Leo!" he exclaimed. He jumped up and ran over to his brother's side. He paused for a half a second to give him a hug, and then he grabbed a thermometer and stuck it in Leo's mouth. Leo rolled his eyes.

"I'm oday, Donadello," he said, struggling to talk without dislodging the thermometer he knew he had to keep firmly underneath his tongue for like, three minutes or something. "Deriodly, I'b fine," he said. He ignored the throbbing in his left leg. Donnie already looked so panicked, and he didn't want this stupid leg injury hindering the entire team again.

"No, you're not, Leo," Donnie insisted. Leo partially rolled his eyes. When Donnie went into Doctor Donnie mode, nothing would snap him out of it. But then again, Leo knew he wasn't okay. He felt so guilty! All of his was his fault! And now Raph and Mikey were hurt too and-

Wait a second? Where were Raph and Mikey? He mentally cursed himself for not making sure that they were perfectly okay before even checking to see how hurt he was. It should have been this first thing he thought of! What kind of a leader was he? What kind of a big brother was he?

"Where are Raph and Mikey? Are they okay?" he asked frantically. Donnie looked up.

"Relax Leo, Raph and Mikey are fine. Mikey had a minor scratch on his arm, which only required a few stitches and some bandages. Other than the bruises, he'll be fine in several days. Raph-" here he paused, gathering his thoughts, "Was a little worse off, considering he took that ice ray to the head for Mikey. But that was also fixed with some stitches. He has a mild concussion, but that'll be fine with some rest. He was determined on staying up all night with you again, but Sensei slipped something into his tea."

"Bet he wasn't happy about that."

"Well, he won't be when he wakes up."

Silence fell over the two turtles. Donnie moved swiftly and silently, rubbing burn medicine on Leo's wounds and re-bandaging them. Leo was lost parading around in guilty thoughts.

" _He's blaming himself,_ " Donnie thought as he pulled a bandage tightly. Leo cringed slightly, but said nothing. " _We all know him well enough to know that. It wasn't his fault that the bomb went off and he couldn't get out of the way._

" _Of course, that's not what he's feeling guilty about. None of us were hurt in the explosion. It's the fact that he led us into that battle in the first place. I did warn him...But there have been plenty of fights where I've said the exact same thing and we won anyway. I've miscalculated before. And technically we did take out all the Foot bots. It would of been fine if it hadn't been a trap._

" _Of course, that's just Leo. He loves us so much, he'd do anything for us. And he'll take full blame for anything that happens to us without a second thought._ " He looked up at his big brother, who looked lost in thought. " _When was the last time I talked to him other than to give updates or information regarding a fight or one of my projects?_ " He couldn't remember. " _Well, maybe it's my turn to pull my big brother out of his guilt. Raph and Mikey have done it a hundred times_."

"It wasn't your fault you know," he said suddenly, breaking the stifling silence. Leo looked up abruptly.

"What?"

"Raph and Mikey getting hurt. That fight. The bomb. None of that was your fault."

"I never said-"

"You didn't have to," Donnie said impatiently. "I know you're blaming yourself, Leo. It's what you do. And I can't stand it." At this, Leo's face darkened slightly as he frowned, almost glaring at his peaceful brother.

"But it was my fault," he growled. "I should have listened to you! My haste to finally get something done, find Karai, stop Shredder, my foolish PRIDE could have gotten you all KILLED!" He paused and took a sharp breath. "SO don't you DARE tell me that it wasn't my fault. And I'm so sorry if you just can't STAND it! DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME THAT YOU WERE RIGHT ALL ALONG. DON'T YOU DARE REMIND ME THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE LEADER OF THIS TEAM FROM THE BEGINNING! BECAUSE I ALREADY KNOW THAT, AND I DON'T NEED YOU TO REMIND ME WHAT A FAILURE I AM AS A LEADER, AND A NINJA, AND A BROTHER, AND-"

Donnie eyes widened. He had no idea that Leo truly felt that way. Here he had been, content to work away the hours in his lab where he could truly help the team. He had always been thankful to Leo for taking all of the responsibility so that he was free to do this. He never even considered the possibility that Leo shouldn't have been the leader.

Leo was his big brother. The one who wasn't scared of anything. The one who built him back up when his self esteem crumbled after stuff like the Metalhead incident. He was flawless, and Donnie knew he could count on Leo to always be there.

And then it hit him. He was so used to being around mindless machines, the ones he had admired so much. Of course, he loved Leo so much more than a simple structure of metal, but the point was that he had ignored the fact that his older brother, who got everything done perfectly and smoothly, had emotions that a machine couldn't ever imagine.

And had Donnie ever been there for Leo? Nope, because Donnie had been going through the same robotic routine every day, and Leo had been allowing him to do it, making sure that everything ran as smooth as a well oiled machine, never stopping to consider himself. And now Donnie felt selfish that he hadn't been there for his older brother.

When they were younger, Leo used to come to Donnie when he had nightmares, knowing that with Raph he would be mocked, and Mikey would just become scared of Leo's nightmares. But Donnie had been the middle ground, the one Leo could trust. When was the last time Donnie had actually slept in his room?

He remembered sometimes that Leo came into the lab in the middle of the night, looking slightly afraid and unsure, only to notice Donnie was working hard on something. Then he would mumble about not being able to sleep and leave Donnie alone. Donnie felt so bad. So he did the one thing he did best. He didn't say anything, he just threw his arms around Leo and buried his head into Leo's shoulder.

Leo stopped his little rant immediately, shocked at Donnie's reaction. He didn't deserve forgiveness, he had screwed up one too many times already. Donnie was so much smarter than he was. He remembered when they were younger he had been so jealous of his second youngest brother, who had learned to read long before the rest of them, and could do simple equations and understand the big words on TV.

He also remembered that he used to go to Donnie when he had nightmares, normally about losing his family or not being good enough for them. Donnie wouldn't make fun of him. He would just hug Leo. And then Leo would feel better and they would snuggle down to sleep.

His nightmares had been getting worse recently too. He had to watch Shredder kill his family one by one, unable to do anything because of his leg injury, which chained him in place. He had nightmares about them mocking him, abandoning him. He had nightmares about his Sensei taking away his Ninja title and his beloved katana blades.

He would blindly run to the lab, but upon finding Donatello busy with these wonderful creations that Leo could not understand, he would leave, feeling foolish that he had even considered that Donnie could help him. Donnie deserved better. Donnie deserved more. He did so much for the family and the team, and he needed a brother worthy of his brain and talents.

So when Donnie threw his arms around him like he had when they were younger, Leo froze. He could feel Donnie resting his purple clad head on his shoulder.

"That's never what I thought Leo," Donnie whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. I got so caught up in my daily routine, so lost in the world of beakers and wrenches that I've been ignoring my brothers. And although Raph and Mikey had you, you had no one to turn to.

"And I'm sorry for abandoning you. It's just that, I don't know, the training sessions, chores, schedules, patrols, planning, you had everything under control. I contributed myself when needed and I just fell into a clockwork pattern. But you're not a machine, you're my big brother. I- I forgot that not even you were invincible and afraid of nothing, but that's just because I admired you so much! I'm sorry!"

And at that, Leo could feel Donnie's tears start to fall as he squeezed the life out of him. Leo rubbed his brother's shell comfortingly.

"And I'm sorry for thinking you wouldn't care. I was jealous of you, Donnie. I thought you didn't need me. You were just so smart. You had your machines and your colorful jars and I didn't understand anything you did. I felt like, like I would be getting in your way. Dragging you down. So I've kinda been avoiding you too. I guess just thought you wouldn't want to the bother..." Leo said softly.

"You IDIOT!" said Donnie, looking up and looking angry. Leo was startled, and he looked at Donnie. Was Donnie agreeing with him? That he should've just left the genius alone? He put his hands up, taking a step back and turning to leave. Donnie grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. "How could you ever be so STUPID to think that I wouldn't CARE? That I was too GOOD for you? Leo, if anyone's too good for the other, you're too good for me!"

"But you're so smart! And I figured you didn't need another distraction!" Leo said.

"What? Leo, you've always been my inspiration. My idol. I've always dreamed of being like you. You're such a good leader, you can come up with plans my big _brain_ wouldn't have even thought off. You are a great ninja!

"And although you may not be fearless, your fears are so brave! I've always been scared of stupid things, like April not liking me, or not being able to solve a stupid problem. You're scared of letting your family down. How selfless is THAT?"

"I guess we've both been avoiding each other for far too long, huh?" Leo sighed.

"Yeah," Donnie agreed. "But never again, okay? If you have a nightmare, you had better drag me out of the lab. Actually, drag me out of the lab anyway. Both day and night. I miss hanging out with you guys, and watching stupid TV shows and sparring for the heck of it. Don't let me get too caught up in my work again, okay?"

"Deal, and in return, don't let me wallow in my stupid self blame, and if I need to just cool off, promise me you'll always be there. Even though it was kinda my fault this time."

"No it wasn't," Donnie groaned, "When I told you that there were too many, that was before the ambush. We totally did what I thought was impossible. Even I make mistakes Leo. And in the future, you would probably be wise not to heed my warnings."

"Okay, but only if you make sure that when I need a warning, it's a warning that I should heed, kay?" Leo laughed.

Suddenly, two more turtles rushed in without any announcement and threw their arms around their big brother.

"Hey man, you okay?" Raph asked, punching Leo lightly on the shoulder. He had a bandage around his head, but he seemed to be fine otherwise.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Leo replied smiling. He turned to Mikey, who was jumping up and down ecstatically beside him, with his normal amount of energy and enthusiasm.

"Guess what Leo? GUESS WHAT? Can't guess? I'll just tell you! I GOT A CAT! Well, I found a cat, but Sensei let me keep it this time! Her name is Klunk, and she's orange, she loves Crognard the Barbarian, and pizza, and elves, and The +1 Ring of Awesome, and Renet, and she's the cutest kitty ever!" he babbled, shoving a furry little ball into Leo's arms.

Leo looked at the little pink nose and the deep brown eyes staring up at him, turned to Donnie and raised an eyebrow.

"Mikey got a cat?"

"Yeah, I probably should of warned you," Donnie chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah you should have," Leo said, chuckling along.

Leonardo and Donatello leaned against each other and started laughing. Mikey looked at Raph and shrugged.

"What can I say? Cats just have that amazing effect on people!" Mikey said brightly. And the two of them joined their brothers in laughter.

 **A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed that! Please review if you liked! Have a great day!**


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